The head of a San Francisco-based cloud computing company was widely mocked on social media for quoting the late Martin Luther King Jr. in an email to employees announcing layoffs.
PagerDuty’s chief executive, Jennifer Tejada, has been accused of being an employee after she sent a lengthy 1,669-word email to employees announcing that the company would “refine” its business structure by laying off 7% of its global workforce. “Tone Deaf”.
Tejada concluded the memo with a quote from a sermon by King that was later included in his 1959 book, The Measure of a Man.
“In moments like these, I am reminded of what Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘the ultimate measure of a man’ [leader] not where [they] Stand at a moment of comfort and convenience, but where [they] Stand in times of challenge and controversy,'” Tejada wrote.
The ruthless executive was instantly burned on social media
One Twitter user commented that it was “the most tone-deaf layoff email I’ve ever read,” adding that it “feels like it was written by an AI, and it puts all the phrases people usually say. In a long email”
One Twitter user offered some advice to PagerDuty, writing: “Maybe stop citing MLK when firing 7% of employees?”
Another Twitter user posted a screenshot of a Google search showing Tejada’s annual salary of $13.2 million.
“Did Pagerduty seriously decide that it’s a good idea to quote MLK in a press release because they’re laying off 7% of their workforce?” another Twitter user wondered.
A 7% “refinement” means the company has laid off 66 of the 950 workers it hired a year ago.
Tejada also drew criticism for using the occasion to celebrate employee promotions and tout the company’s positive financial results in the fourth quarter of last year.
Last month, PagerDuty reported revenue of $94.2 million in its most recent quarter, up 31.3% year-over-year. The company also said it had a net loss of $32.8 million in the same quarter, up from a year earlier.
“We expect to end the year on a strong note — in fact, we reaffirmed our guidance for fiscal 2023 today — and these results, combined with the improvements outlined above, position PagerDuty to successfully execute on our platform strategy, Whatever the market and macro environment brings,” Tejada wrote in an email earlier this week.
The Post has sought comment from PagerDuty.
Tejada does seem to be trying to be sensitive to those who are fired, writing: “I think Dutonians are more than just employees; they are accomplished, talented individuals who #BringThemselves and drive the innovation and culture behind our products and services , to provide an experience that delights our customers.”
“I thank every Dutonian for their contributions to PagerDuty,” the CEO wrote.
“I want us to show all our colleagues the grace, respect and dignity they deserve.”
Tejada wrote: “As someone who has been in the industry for decades, I’ve been through this before, it’s never been easy, and I know from experience that while we may not be working together anytime soon, we The relationship and this community continues beyond our tenure at PagerDuty.”
Those laid off will receive an average of 11 weeks of severance pay and “at least three to four months” of health coverage for themselves and their dependents.
The furloughed employees also promised help with future job placement.
The tech industry has been hit hard by the recession — forcing companies to lay off tens of thousands of workers.
A former Google employee posted a TikTok video this week showing the moment she learned she was one of 12,000 workers fired by the tech giant.
Other tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, Twitter, Meta and Snap have also laid off large numbers of workers in recent months.
